'People said, 'Don't come to India. If you try, you won't be able to'.'
Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy has taken the cricket world by storm with his match-winning performances in the just-concluded Champions Trophy.
The last minute entrant into the Indian squad, the mystery spinner took 9 wickets in just three matches as he helped guide India to the title win over New Zealand on March 9.
Now, in an interview, the Tamil Nadu spinner has recalled tough times he endured after his dismal performance at the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Following the team’s early exit from the tournament, Chakravarthy said he received threatening calls and thought it was the end of his career.
''It was a very bad time for me. I fell into depression because I felt I wasn’t doing justice even after being selected for the World Cup. I regretted not taking a single wicket in that tournament. After that, I was out of the team for three consecutive years. I felt that a comeback was far more difficult than my debut,' he told Gobinath on his YouTube channel.
'After the 2021 World Cup, I received threat calls. People said, 'Don't come to India. If you try, you won't be able to'. People approached my house and tracked me down, and I sometimes had to hide.
'When I was returning from the airport, some people followed me on their bikes. It happens. I can understand fans are emotional,' he added.
Chakravarthy turned things around when he tweaked his action and went on to become a leading bowler for KKR in their title run last season. He second-highest wicket-taker in the 2024 Indian Premier League with 21 dismissals at an average of 19.14 and economy rate of 8.04. His consistent showing in T20Is saw him win the India ODI cap against England and he's only gone on to prove his worth there on.
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